General FAQ

What is SimCity?

SimCity is the reinvention of the flagship of city-building simulations. With this game, every choice you make you will see it affecting your city, your region and the world within the game.

Where can I find out more about SimCity?

SimCity has many communities for you to be part of. Get the latest news and content from our official portal at SimCity.com. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest game details and exclusive content.

How long does SimCity take to play?

SimCity is a sandbox-style game with no time limits.

Can I play with my friends?

For the first time, SimCity will offer a full multiplayer experience.

What platforms is SimCity available on?

SimCity will be available for PC and Mac.

When does SimCity land on store shelves?

SimCity will be available for purchase on PC on March 7th 2013 and Mac in August.

Will the Sims speak Simlish like past games?

Sims in SimCity speak in Simlish, however game language will be in English.

What is the ACB rating for SimCity?

SimCity is rated G. The G classification is suitable for everyone.

What’s the difference between The Sims and SimCity?

Both franchises are sandbox style open worlds that give you the tools to play with life how you see fit.

The Sims franchise is a life-simulation that enables you to play with life at a personal level and focuses on individual Sims and relationships... You take care of your Sims, build relationships, work to earn money, look after their hygiene and more.

SimCity is a city-building simulation that lets you create the cities that you desire. Gameplay is focused on the choices you make and how they shape your city and power the Sims within it.

Can I bring my Sims from The Sims 3 franchise into the game?

The Sims within The Sims 3 franchise are not the same as the Sims that inhabit your SimCity game. The Sims in your SimCity are affected by the decisions you make as Mayor. . They will come to you with requests for how they’d like the city improved and you can choose whether or not you’d like to grant their request. You will control their lives through a variety of ways like bringing in new industry, taking away jobs and forging relationships with other players. We made the decision to focus on the soul of the city and let players control the greater landscape than the individual Sim.

Is this game made by EA?

SimCity is being developed by EA’s Maxis Emeryville studio. Several key team members of past Maxis SimCity titles are back and will be working to make this the greatest SimCity yet.

MAC FAQ

When will the Mac version be available?

SimCity for Mac will be available in August 2013.

Why is the Mac port launching later?

This isn’t a Mac port, but a full native version that runs on the Mac OS. Because of this, we want to take the time to ensure that Mac fans will get a version worthy of their platform.

What system specs are you targeting with the Mac version?

Will the Mac version have any advantages or additions over the PC version?

No, the Mac version will have the same features as the PC version.

Waiting Room/Server FAQ

I’ve be put in a waiting room? What does that mean?

In cases of heavy load on a particular server, our systems will automatically trigger a waiting room. The waiting room will prevent anyone not currently logged into that server from joining. Once the timer on the waiting room has counted down completely, it will attempt to log you back in the server. If successful, you will be able to join. If the server is still busy, the time will recommence. The waiting room will remain up until traffic on the server returns to normal levels. Remember, if a waiting room pops up, you can always join and play on a different server.

How will I know if a server is full, or near to full?

You will see a Server Status Alert on the SimCity launcher. This indicates whether a server is available, full, or busy.

What does it mean if a server is listed as FULL or BUSY?

If a server is listed as BUSY, this is a notification that there is heavy activity on that particular server. You can still join it if you wish to start a new region or city; or load a pre-existing city. If a server is listed as FULL, you will not be allowed to join that server unless you have an earlier city saved on it. If you already have a city saved on that server, the server will be accessible.

Are servers country or language specific?

SimCity is Region Free. It doesn’t matter where you live, you can join and play on any server you’d like.

How many servers can I exist on?

Players will be able to play on multiple servers, with a maximum of 10 regions on each.

Are my cities and regions transferable from server to server?

Each server is discrete which means that cities and regions are not transferable.

Adding Friends FAQ

How do I add friends?

You can find friends and send them friend requests using the Origin Friends List tab button on the main menu. From here, type in their Origin username to search for them and click the plus button next to their name to send them a friend request invite. They will need to accept your request before you are officially friends. For more information about adding friends on Origin, view this link: help.ea.com/article/origin-faq#6a

How do I find my friends?

You can search for friends directly in-game using the Origin Friends List tab in the main menu or while playing.

How do I join my friends’ regions?

You can search for your friends’ regions from the Play menu under the Join Game tab. From here, select the Friends tab and choose which friends you would like to filter your search by. Invitations to regions will appear in the Games Invites button on the main menu. From here, click on the invite to join the region and claim a city. You can also view CityLog to see what regions your friends are playing and it will take you directly to their region.

How do I invite my friends to play in a region with me?

From the Play menu, go to the Resume Game tab. From here, open one of your saved regions and click the “Invite Friends” tab to send requests to join your region. You can also invite friends when creating a new region, even if it’s private.

Why can’t I find my friend in the Origin friends search? I know we are Origin friends and we both play SimCity.

This can result when you are playing on different servers. In order to play with your friends, you’ll all need to join the same server.

Test Server FAQ

What is it for?

This server is used by us the SimCity developers, and players to test changes and new features before they are released across all the other servers. This test server will improve our ability to deploy these updates as quickly and accurately as possible.

Can I play on that server?

You can and we would be very grateful if you did, as we need people to help test. But by it’s very nature it will not be as stable as our other live server environments.

What does that mean for players?

You’ll have the sincere appreciation of the SimCity development team for helping us test the game, but your experience might be unstable. We also may take this test server down at any time, and you could lose progress in your saved cities. You should not lose your cities on this test server, but it is always a possibility.